


Hybrid gems, the biggest threats to Homeworld

by Alexis_universe



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: AU of an AU, F/M, Summer Vacation, gem-powered Connie, hybrid Connie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-08 23:51:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10398963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexis_universe/pseuds/Alexis_universe
Summary: Connie spends a nice summer with Steven and the Gems.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cyberwraith9](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyberwraith9/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Stranger in Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9500753) by [Cyberwraith9](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyberwraith9/pseuds/Cyberwraith9). 



> This AU is based on Cyberwraith9's Story 'The stranger in me' and will surely be contradicted by it when it advances.
> 
> So consider this an AU of An AU.
> 
> Go read his story so this has some sense.

"Okay sweety, Do you have everything for summer at Steven's house?" Priyanka asked her daughter as they traveled to The Crystal Temple in Beach city.

"Yup!" The girl said enthusiastically. "Three suitcases with enough clothes for summer, first-aid kits, granola bars and books, a backpack with the laptop Steven gave me, my phone and charger, and my sword."

"And what about polisher?" Priyanka asked with a raised eyebrow. "Did you placed a can in your bags?"

"Why would I?" Connie said. "Gems' gemstones don't lose their luster."

"I just want your gemstone to shine as brightly as you, Connie." Her mother said in a small sarcastic tone. "Is it wrong that I want yours to outshine everyone else's gems?"

This pulled out a small laugh from Connie that also spread on Priyanka as they kept going down the road.

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A couple of months had passed since the fight on the Beach where everything started.

Connie had fought a Corrupted gem and accidentally turned into a gem hybrid like Steven when he healed her wounds, only that this time, it was a Jade instead of a Rose Quartz.

With the gem inserted in her body, Connie acquired powers like Super strength, Enhanced speed and eokinesis. However, due to corruption, The former gem still had a sliver of consciousness, and made Connie to exhibit the traits of her host, like an aversion to food and the obsession to catalogue her surroundings.

It was hard, but after some time only eating the disgusting _'Soy Delicioso!™'_ protein bars and looking for non lethal options for gem extraction, Steven got in contact with Jade's mind and not only healed her corruption, but also released the small control over Connie's behavior by convincing her to suppress her mind into the deepest recess of her gemstone until Connie's physical body ceased to work and died.

Of course, the Maheswarans knew of this situation before Steven could handle it, but thanks to Connie's diplomatic abilities, she convinced her parents that she was like Steven and that trying to pry the jade from her body was going to kill her.

She told them that now that was the life she wanted to live, and reluctantly, they agreed to support Connie in every decision she would have to take.

Now, it was summer, and Priyanka had decided to send Connie with the Gems during it (something she was planning to do anyways) while she and Doug paid a visit to some relatives in western Kansas.

Also, it was one of the gems' petitions to overlook Connie and her abilities until she could assist to school without the the risk of her accidentally making a tornado inside her school's cafeteria, or breaking a kid's skull during dodgeball practice. So for the Doctor, it was hitting two birds with the same Gemstone.

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"I'm leaving Connie in your hands, Steven." Priyanka said in the threshold of his house's door. "I'll be calling periodically to check on you, I want reports of every mission or lesson she's going to take part in. If something really bad happens again, please call me to my cell phone."

"Don't worry about it, Dr. Maheswaran!" Steven said, saluting at her like a soldier. "You can count on us to protect Connie!"

"Yes, mom." Connie said as she lowered her heavy suitcases on Steven's floor. "We'll keep you checked on everything we do!"

"That's what I'm counting on, young lady." She said with a gentle smile. "Well, Doug's waiting me for breakfast before leaving to Kansas." She told them. "I'd better be going."

She was about to turn her back to the door when she felt something pressed against her: Connie had run towards her and hugged her tightly.

"Stay safe mom!" Connie said.

"You too Connie." The doctor returned the hug gently and stood that way for a couple of seconds before she let go of the embrace. "Please tell the others what I've just told you."

"We will!" Steven said smiling, receiving a nod of acknowledgement from the woman..

The doctor walked down the stairs and looked back at the door, where she saw Connie and Steven looking at her.

She then walked into the Big Donut's parking lot to retrieve her car and make her way to do her own agenda, leaving the children alone until the Gems' arrival from their mission.

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"So... How went school?" Steven asked his friend as they watched TV on his bed. "Did something else happened with that kid Mandy?"

"Well, She tried to get into a fight with me and her lackeys sometime after Jade gave me her gemstone, but she only went to detention cause fights in the school are forbidden." Connie explained.

"How did you avoided detention?" He asked curiously.

"I didn't do anything." Connie said as she took some popcorn and ate it. "I dodged Mandy and she hitted one of her lackeys. Long story short, they began to fight each other."

"Woah... Who would've guessed that popular girls are actually mean?" Steven said. "I thought that only happened in sitcoms."

"At least I'll never have to worry again about finding place to sit during lunch." She said. "She mistreated everyone in school, and now, everyone stands against her because of me!"

"That's one of the best parts of being a Crystal Gem." Steven said.

"Beating up the bad guys?" Connie asked.

"I was going to say protecting the innocent, but that's much better!" He said.

They watched the rerun of Under the knife until it finished, occasionally leaving a comment on either the show or something they did last week.

Eventually, they decided to play videogames until the Gems arrived.

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"Nooooo!" Steven said as he helplessly mashed the buttons of his controller as Connie unleashed a relentless combo of attacks on Lonely blade.

"It's no use, Steven!" Connie said with a fake evil accent. "You're no rival for Polnareff's Silver Chariot!"

A Loud, echoed scream came out of the TV as Steven's character received the deadly end of Polnareff's Ghostly rapier multiple times. A winner screen featuring the bizarre Frenchman mocked Steven a bit.

"When did you got so good at videogames?" Steven asked his friend. 

"It's just a matter of ability, Steven." She said slyly as the Frenchman made an awkward victory pose and said something about Egypt and vampires or something like that (The new DLC of Lonely blade's game was pretty weird.)

"I've literally got Polnareff yesterday and you use it like you knew him from day one!" He said

"What can I say?" She said confidently. "Swords are my specialty."

"Speaking of swords..." Steven said. "Do you want to do some training until The gems return?"

"Are you saying that only cause you're losing?" Connie asked with a grin.

The Frenchman onscreen was doing more strange poses next to lonely blade's unconscious body, Mocking Steven even more."

"Yes." He said while looking at the screen.

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Sparks flew into the air as Rose's former weapons clashed against each other. The sand surrounding their feet rippled as pink deflected pink.

Steven and Connie's improvised sparring session had started as a pair of friends looking for a gratifying work out session, but escalated in intensity as Connie felt that she wasn't giving the one hundred percent of herself.

Connie twirled her sword around as if it wasn't of the same size as her. Her swordplay was swifter and powerful, enough to make Steven stagger behind his shield, as her strength steadily increased.

Steven on the other hand, felt Connie's power disinhibition and unconsciously adjusted him to counter her attacks' power, sending her flying a few meters away when he pushed her back with his pink shield.

As The pretend battle started to end, a tealish ring of light began to appear around Connie's Irises, Steven's eyes also featured that subtle glow, only that his had a pink coloration.

The groundshaking blows of their weapons intensified, making clouds of sand to fly some inches away from the ground only to be dispelled by a strong wind current from the clash of pinkness.

The pretend battle ended when Connie disarmed Steven and pointed her blade to his neck. Their chests heaved heavily as exhaustion caught up with them.

"Wow..." Steven said through pants. "That was... Amazing... Connie..." She took her sword away from him and sheated it.

"I know!" She said as their irises returned to normal. "That was the best sparring I've ever had!" She helped him to get back on his feet. 

"I didn't knew I could do that." Steven said to himself as he saw a stone hand in front of her reduced to rubble due to a shield of his being deflected by Connie.

"I didn't knew I could do any of that, Steven!" She said, as she remembered the fight that occured just minutes ago. "I felt like I was unstoppable... Was it my gem? Did I grew stronger because of it?"

"I think so." He said. "Since I remember, I've never had problems with lifting heavy stuff."

"How do you do to not break stuff?" Connie asked as they sat down on the soft sand in front of the temple.

"That's the art of self-restraining my dear friend of mine..." He began talking until twilight fell into the sky. They Were sitting in there for hours, talking about nothing and everything until the telltale sound of an activating warp pad filled the air.


	2. Closet nerd

Once the warp pad activated, The children quickly got up into the house, finding that only Amethyst was inside it upon entering.

"Hey dudes." She greeted them as she stepped out of the warp pad, sparing a glance at them. "Why're you so sweaty?

"We just finished a sparring session." Connie said as she unbuckled her sword and placed it on Steven's coffee table. Amethyst let out a groan.

"What's with you guys and training?" She said. "Normal kids shouldn't like to do exercise."

"With all due respect, Amethyst." Connie said as she sat on Steven's couch, he followed suit immediately. "We've passed the limits of normality when we met you guys."

"Touché." Amethyst said before heading to the fridge. "So... What happened with Doctor M? How's she taking the whole Jade thing?"

Connie traced the square-faceted gemstone that sat on her sternum.

"Well, it's not easy, but my parents are trying their best to understand me now." She said. "They're still getting comfortable with the idea of their daughter hosting some stranger inside her..." She took a small pause. "I'm, still getting comfortable with that."

And true to her word, Connie was trying to get used to her new status as a hybrid. Now, she had access to Jade's powers and abilities, and could be more useful to the Crystal Gems. But her human side would have some bad effects, If she didn't had care, Connie could bring harm to herself and others, and the very presence of Jade locked away in the deepest part of her consciousness made the weather darker every time Connie remembered the Gem. She could still remember the face of Jade inside her mindscape. Her sad, green eyes looking at her, resigning to await until her host's death to get her freedom. True, she was a nuisance in Connie's life for a couple of months, but after spending those months with her, Jade had come to appreciate the girl, and saw that she had a life of her own. Once she found common ground with Connie, they opened up to each other, telling stories about their past, both recent and distant. Connie even pointed out that they looked alike and convinced her to try some of Pumpkin Pete's cereal. But now, the gemstone's only response was the occasional glow that appeared with Connie's mood.

"But overall, we're doing okay." She said

"I'm glad to hear that, Connie." Steven said. "I also had to take some time before coming to terms with being a Gem."

"Thank you, Steven." The girl said, giving him a small smile. "My mom is less lenient that dad with it though, but she still wants to know what's going on, and she's willing to see how things are going to be from now on."

"Why's your dad more lenient?" Amethyst asked.

"Remember the anime series I showed you guys a few months ago?" Connie asked.

"The one where Polnareff appears?" Steven asked unsurely.

"Well, He has been reading its manga since he was a teenager." Connie clarified.

"That kinda explains why he didn't freaked out when we met them as Alexandrite." Amethyst said as she pulled a canister of motor oil from the fridge. "He's just a huge closet nerd."

"Oh, no. He did freaked out when we got home." Connie added.

"Really?" Steven asked.

"He's actually a fan of Kaiju movies." Connie confessed. "He once told me that his biggest dream was riding Godzilla's back."

"Your father is all a case." Amethyst muttered before chomping on the canister.

"Says the one who likes eating garbage." Connie said.

"Um... Sorry, but can you remind me the taste of a 'Soy Delicioso!™' bar?" Amethyst returned, turning Connie's face into a shade of sick green at the mention of the forsaken bars.

"I'll let you have this one, Amethyst..." Connie said after fighting the urge to throw up.

"Hey! Now that I notice, Where are the others?" Steven asked the full gem.

"They're at the barn."Amethyst said. "They asked Peridot to build up some stuff, I got bored and left."

"Is there any chance of training tomorrow?" Connie asked hopefully.

"I'm sure of it." She said inattentively before springing back into her playful self. "Hey, Do you wanna do some fun stuff around the city?"

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"Are you sure about this Steven?" Connie said as Steven pulled out his bug-sleeping bag from his closet after a night of mischief and fun around town.

"Of course I am!" He said with droopy eyes. "You're my guest, and since the house doesn't have a guest room, I'll lend you my bed!"

"But you can't sleep on the floor, Steven." Connie interjected.

"Well, I'm out of ideas then." He said. "I can't let you sleep on the couch and you don't want me to sleep on it either."

"I think that I might have a better idea." She said.

"What is it?" He asked.

"We can share the bed as Stevonnie." Connie said conspiratively.

Silence reigned in the house for a few moments after her proposition.

"Are you sure about it?" Steven said worriedly. "We don't know if They'll stay the same."

"I'm sure they will be the same Stevonnie we love to be a part of, Steven." She reassured him. 

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do, Steven." She said. "But we don't have to do it right now if you don't want to."

Silence fell once again into the landing where Steven's bed was until Steven spoke again.

"We can always share the bed as ourselves." He said smiling. 

She gave him a quick smile before they got into their pajamas and went to sleep in his bed. Their breathing accompanying each other until their consciousness faded into sleep.


	3. Balanced Breakfast

Connie woke up the next morning alone in Steven's bed. Her overall appearance resembling a zombie with bad hair day as she sat on the bed. She heard the characteristic sound of sizzling bacon on a pan downstairs, her drowsy, aching body forced her out of the bed and into the kitchen.

She sniffed the air and could smell the delicious scent of the breakfast that Steven had made for them: A together breakfast with strawberry, chocolate, bacon and cream cheese.

Steven was cleaning up his hands in the sink while Connie silently got close to a chair near to the pile of carbohydrates. She made herself noticed as she dragged said chair.

"Good morning, Connie!" The boy said to his friend. "I made breakfast for the two of us!"

"Thanks, Steven." The girl said as her mouth watered at the food.

Steven quickly sat next to Connie as he pulled his own plate closer to him.

"Itadakimasu!" Steven cheerfully said as he dug a fork into the mountain of bread and whipped cream in front of him. Connie followed suit by mere seconds.

If Connie could say what was the worst part of hosting Jade inside her... She would probably say that it was the food, Since Jade's influence on Connie made her wanting to puke whenever food was nearby her mouth. So, in order to keep Connie from dying of hunger, she was forced to eat bars of comprised Mexican protein that tasted like paper ground with sand and iron. After Jade was persuaded to allow her to eat normal food again, Connie cried tears of bliss when she tasted her mother's cooking again. It was like being blinded by the sun's light after spending a lot of time inside a cave, only that in this case, Connie wanted the blindness to last forever (She ate until she was full that night. It was a beautiful scene to watch in Doug's opinion).

So after regaining full control of her body, Connie decided to take her time whenever she started to eat, dedicating some valuable minutes to tasting each single flavor on her mouth before eating at a normal pace.

In this particular case, she took a spoonful of the dessert turned breakfast and savoured every single detail that Steven had added to it: The crispy consistency of the waffles along with the sweetness of the cheese and the whipped cream, the saltiness of the still hot bacon and the juicy sourness that the freshly picked up strawberry gave the plate its particular essence.

Connie moaned in delight as she chewed up her breakfast. Steven only looked at her in the same way a person would watch cat videos on tube tube.

However, When she finished her degustation, Connie began to eat like a hungered beast, The stack of waffles quickly disappearing into her hungry mouth. Of course, She only did this whenever she felt extra hungry, extra tired or after overusing her gemstone. This time, it was the three of them together.

"Why'd you must be such a great cook?!" She asked him in-between chewing. 

"Because I have a sophisticated palate, my dear Connie." He said, trying to imitate a rich guy. 

Connie chuckled at the small joke as she got into the last quarter of her breakfast.

Once she finished eating, Connie drank down half liter of chocolate milk to gulp down the now gone breakfast. She let out a contented sigh after finishing.

"It's such a shame that she didn't tasted your food sooner, Steven..." Connie declared.

"Did you ever asked her why she hated flavors so much?" Steven asked her as he cut off a piece of waffle.

"Not really..." The girl said. "But I believe it's just a Homeworld thing, I mean, Didn't Lapis hated food at first?"

"True..." He said. "I guess that's earth for Gems."

"By the way, where's Amethyst?" The girl asked.

"I'm not sure..." The boy said. "I think she could be in the temple, or sleeping under the house or inside the Big Donut's trash bin.

Connie chuckled at the comment when The warp pad activated, the Stream of light gathering into the shape of Pearl, Garnet, Peridot and surprisingly enough, Lapis.

"Hi, Steven, Connie." Garnet said to them.

"Did we interrupted something?" Pearl asked.

"No, we just had breakfast, Pearl, that's all." Steven said.

"What were you doing at the barn?" Connie asked.

"We asked Peridot if she could build us something." Garnet explained. "But these two in here wanted to show us their new 'Meep Morps' right after it."

"You should really open up a gallery so everyone can see your works." Pearl added.

"I think we'll pass." The blue gem said as she wandered around the house, looking for something to do. 

"Most humans doesn't have the taste necessary to understand our Morps!" Peridot said.

"Sure they don't." Pearl said with a small smirk on her face.

"What did you asked for?" Connie asked the leader.

Garnet raised a gemmed hand into the air, and summoned a bright, green artifact built out of trash and gem tech.

"We commissioned a Gem radar." The fusion explained 

"What are you going to do with it?" Steven asked in-between forkfuls of waffle.

"Use it to Hunt gems in closed environments." She said before reabsorbing the item into her form.

"We had problems with catching up the corrupted gem from last night." Pearl said blushing. "We couldn't even find it inside the shrine or near it, but anyways, Steven, Connie You're in charge until we're back ." 

"Wait, Where are you going?" Connie asked. "I thought we were going to train." 

"Oh Connie, of course we're going to train today." She tried to reassure her pupil. "It's only that I'm not sure if we should train in the sky arena for the moment." The white gem stated.

"We don't want you to accidentally throw us into the ground again." Garnet said bluntly.

"I see..." Connie said, given that her low control of her new abilities caused several accidents when training.

"So, until we find some place where we can assure that we won't need Lapis' help to pick us up from the air, You can do whatever you want with Steven." Pearl said as she and Garnet returned to the warp pad.

"We'll be back soon." The fusion said before the stream of light swallowed both gems inside them.

Now the hybrids and the ex-homeworlders were alone in the same room, Steven was finishing his breakfast, Peridot was tinkering around with some stuff on Steven's shelves and Lapis was looking at Connie, who now wished to not had waken up at all.

A dreadful Silence filled the room for a minute, interrupted occasionally by the scraping of Steven's fork against his plate.

"So.... Um...." A nervous Connie dared to break the silence. "How come you're not at the barn?"

"Garnet thought that it would be a great if Steven's best friends payed him a visit, So, as the leader of the Crystal Gems, I've decided to follow her advice!" The green gem said.

"Oh... Okay then." The young girl said, letting the silence fall once more.

"Do you want to watch TV?" Steven asked his friends.

"Sure." Lapis said, mostly because she didn't wanted to be trapped in the awkwardness of the silence.

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"I still don't get the point of this animated series..." Peridot said as she sat in front of Steven's TV. "There's no way a human can bleed that much, I researched it and theres only an approximate of 5 liters of blood inside them!"

"It's just an anime, Peridot." Connie said from his bed. "It doesn't have to be realist."

"Yeah Peridot, I mean, Have you ever seen these guys?" Steven asked next to Connie. "They literally are a Japanese guy that punches stuff with a ghost, an Egyptian guy with a flaming-chicken-ghost-man and a Frenchman with an armored ghost-swordsman, that want kill an evil English vampire in Egypt, and all of them talk fluent Japanese. And you worry about their blood?"

"Did you asumed humans could have ghost bodyguards?" Lapis asked her blushing roommate.

"That's besides the point, Lapis!" The green gem said flustered. "Humans are already a weird species. It wouldn't surprise me if they suddenly got superhuman powers in the span of a day!"

"Um... Peridot..." Lapis said and pointed her hands towards Connie and Steven.

"That's Different!" Peridot shrieked. "This animated series states that those Psychokinetical forms stem from the humans' power, while Gem powers aren't a natural occurrence to humans."

"I guess you're right." Connie said before munching on a fistful of popcorn, swallowing it before continuing. "You'll never see a human with a gemstone born from two normal humans."

"See Lapis, Even Connie agrees with me!" Peridot said proudly.

The blue gem just huffed in annoyance before returning to watch the TV.


	4. Underground Battleground

"Wait, DID HE JUST STOPPED TIME!?!?" Peridot Yelled at the screen.

"I didn't expected that." The blue gem said amused.

"THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY SENSE!!" The smaller gem said.

"Actually, it gets hinted a lot of times before the fight that Jotaro has the same power." The dark skinned hybrid said.

"And I believe that he was stopping it every time DIO did to dodge his attacks." Steven added.

"B-B-But that doesn't make any sense!!" The technician said. "That was only some plot device to defeat an invincible power made up by the author! Also, WHERE DID THAT ASPHALT FLATTENER CAME FROM!? THERE WAS NO CONSTRUCTION SITE NEAR THE BRIDGE OR IN ANY OTHER STREET! I SIMPLY CANNOT WITHSTAND THIS KIND O-"

"It's just a series Peridot." Lapis said after placing her hand over the green gem. "Just get over it." 

She released the small gem and threatened her with only a stare. Knowing that she could end up deep inside the ocean if she complained about the unrealness of a TV show, Peridot decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Just wait until you get to Diavolo's arc..." Connie mumbled under her breath.

"What did you said?" The TV-obsessed gem asked.

"Nothing!" Connie said not wanting to start a long and winding explanation on King Crimson's powers.

After Lapis managed to silence Peridot again, they watched the finale of the series, and just after the credits began to roll on screen, Amethyst opened up the door's house with a couple of pizza boxes under her arm.

"S'up nerds." The small Quartz said, stopping a moment to recognize the music theme of the credits. "Watching JoJo's again?" 

"Pretty much." Connie said. "Where were you?"

"I took a nap inside the Big Donut's garbage bin until donut boy woke me up with his complaints." She said. "Then, I thought that you could use a slice of pizza before Pearl kicks your butts during training."

"Did you asked Dad for money?" Steven asked the purple gem as she rose from his bed

"Nah, I got them for free." She proudly stated.

"You tricked Nanefua with shapeshifting, didn't you?" Steven asked once more.

"You betcha!" She said before placing the stolen pizza on the living room's coffee table.

Steven and Connie stepped down the stairs and sat on the couch where their purple friend was.

"Well, Dad always used to say that A pizza always tastes better when it's free..." Steven said.

"Care to prove this philosophy?" Connie said conspiratively.

"Of course we do!" He said before opening the topmost of the pair of boxes, Revealing the enticing circle of cheesy glory to all the people in the house.

Connie, as per usual, was the first one to grab a slice of pizza, followed by Steven and Amethyst. Lapis stole one when no one saw her though.

The youngest hybrid took every single second she had to taste all of the spices and condiments that were in the slice of bread. She let out pleased moans as she tasted how the pepperoni's still hot grease made the mozzarella more elastic and tasty, while the now juicy mushrooms gave their characteristic taste into it.

"Thnks Amthst!" She said with her mouth full of Pizza, before swallowing it down and thanking her properly. "Thanks Amethyst! This is my favorite pizza ever! I haven't eated it in ages!"

"Don't sweat it, kid." She said with a grin. "Just remember to kick Pearl's butt today."

"Why is that?" The first hybrid asked. 

"I made a bet with Homegirl Lapis over here." She gestured a small purple hand at her former enemy, whose face was stained with tomato sauce and mushrooms. "She said that there was no way you could stand a chance against Pearl."

"What!?" The pair of hybrids Said offended.

"I don't have anything against you." The terraformer said after gulping down the italian delicatessen. "But I spent a good time inside her and got to hear some stories from her times during the war. You can't defeat that gem."

"But she has been training Connie!" Steven interjected. "And she even told me that She's her best student in centuries!"

"Did she really said that about me?" Connie asked.

"Of course she did!" The boy said. "She even considers you her best human friend!"

"She does?" She asked once again with amazement. 

"Well, Star student or not, She's gonna wipe down the floor with you." The blue gem said before biting her slice of pizza.

Connie just gave her an annoyed glance and returned to give her attention to Amethyst.

"And what did you bet, if I can ask?" The green gem asked her friend. However, all she got in response was a 'sealed lips' gesture from her.

"Secret." The small quartz said before grabbing the other pizza box and giving it a large bite.

"Well, Connie, you're gonna do great today if we want to know what is at stake." A smiling Steven said to her fellow hybrid.

"Of course I will Steven." She said, mostly to prove to the blue gem of what she was capable of.

She took another large bite of her portion when the crystalline sound of the warp pad filled the house, with Garnet and Pearl appearing on it with a smile.

"Steven! Connie! We're back!" The lithe gem said as she stepped out of the platform.

"Was my Gem radiation localizer useful in your hunt?" The technician asked her teammates.

"Yes, Peridot." The leader of the group said. "It was."

"We finally found that gem-forsaken feldspar digging through the dirt around the Shrine." Pearl said. "But we had to follow her up at least for ten kilometers upstream and another fifteen down the mountain until we could catch her."

"But must importantly, we found something else we want you to see." Garnet said.

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The stream of the warp pad reached its destination deep down a large canyon next to a waterfall, its passengers regained their form after some seconds, the new visitors looked at the scenery with awe. The canyon was really open and was filled with vegetation, small birds and bats flew away into the sky. Sunlight poured into the base of the gorge and was reflected into the stony walls by the gentle stream of the river that sculpted them in ancient times.

"Woah..." Connie said as the group left the crystalline pad.

"Hey, I remember this place." Lapis said with a hint of a smile.

"You were here before?" Steven asked amazed.

"Yes, It was the only place where I could do my job before I got inside the mirror." She explained. "My superior wanted me and another lapis to carve out this canyon using the river upstream to erode the rock so they could build something near its base."

"Is that where we're going?" An excited Steven asked his fused friend.

The usually silent gem grabbed some vegetation near the closest wall to the warp pad, revealing a somewhat large entrance with ancient gem writing on its threshold.

Steven's eyes turned into stars as he received his answer.

Pearl stepped into the corridor and made a pair of lavender lights to turn on with her presence.

"You're really gonna like this Connie!" She said to the younger hybrid excitedly.

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"Woah..." Connie and Steven said in unison this time as they saw a large arena surrounded by water and bleachers that seemed to be made of a strange, white metal. Its ceiling had the same glowing devices that illuminated the aisle embedded into the rocky ceiling.

"I can't believe this..." The technician said in awe. "Era 1 Quartz training grounds...and this one is completely unused."

"Homeworld had plans for this place to give further training and conditioning to the quartzes made here on earth." Garnet explained.

"And since their forces needed the primes and betas immediately. This place was pretty much forgotten and abandoned." Pearl finished.

"Until now." The fusion said with a grin.

"Are we gonna train here?" A hopeful Connie asked her mentor.

"Yes." The lithe gem said. "Until you learn how to keep the tornadoes in check and we can go back to the good old Sky arena."

"Peridot, Can you go to the control room." The magenta gem asked. "We need to see the things this place can do."

A dorky smile formed on the green gem as she heard the order.

"Of course!" She said excitedly. "Come on, Lapis! I'll show you the fruits of your work!"

The blue gem didn't got to say anything before she was dragged by her Barn mate into the small cabin that was at the other side of the room.

Within moments, the white floor in the middle of the cave glowed with a pink light, and changed its shape into several configurations according to Peridot's Wishes. Uneven ground, A maze, soil, sand, a mock forest and several other forms were tested in the control room to see the functions the new owners had access to before returning it to its default position.

"EVERYTHING'S WORKING!!" Peridot shouted at her friends at the other side of the arena.

"Alright then..." The white gem said as she pulled out a sword out of her gem. "Are you ready Connie?"

The girl grinned at the comment, grasping her pink sword by its hilt before glaring defiantly at her teacher.

"Yes ma'am!"

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank cyberwraith9 for letting me write this.
> 
> Leave kudos and comments if you wish!


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